I've done tons of reading up on this but I wanted to put a different perspective on it. I am looking for a fairly light weight gun for BLACK bear defense while hiking. NO GRIZZLYS. I dont think it is debatable which round would work better, the .44.
So I was thinking the Taurus 444 or the S&W329, both light weight .44. The max recommended load for the Taurus is 240 Grain but most recommend 220. I have never owned a Taurus, but my friend is a huge gun collector and has had problems with numerous Taurus guns which makes me nervous. I will not use this gun for a range gun at all. So that leaves the S&W but that thing is over 900.00 which means I would need to sell a gun to get this gun and I really dont want to do that but I was convinced I needed to.
Then I thought, maybe a 10mm Glock would work. I did some research and some say a 10mm will kill a BLACK bear and others say file off the front site, yeah you know the joke. I thought screw it, I'll just go with a .44
Then I started thinking, I dont think I am going to hit much in quick developing situation like that with using double action which means I have to cock it. That can slow things down. Then, my follow up shot, it would take a bit because of the recoil of a light 44 and I would have to yet cock it again. If I were hunting with this gun, sure, cocking it would be no big deal but not in a crisis.
SO then I was thinking, with the Glock 10mm, the trigger pull is nice and I can double tap fairly fast. Lets face it, you're not getting but 1-2 shots at a bear if you have to use a gun but with a 10mm, that might be 2-4 instead of 1-2 shots. Then, I dont care what caliber you use, its all about shot placement. I feel like shot placement would be better with the Glock for the reasons stated above. I have shot many many Deer with high cal rifles and they still run off so anything but a head shot and the damn bear will still probably be charging.
So the question is, will a 10mm penetrate a bear skull? If it will, I feel like while its not better than a 44, but more practical in just about every way.
FYI, I do have and carry bear spray and that would be my obvious first choice. THere several situations though wher e bear spray is not the correct answer like if you were in a tent and u got attacked (happened 3 times last year along in Colorado in the middle of the night) or if the wind is blowing in your face, dont want to spray myself which would make things worse. Or if you didnt see the bear or mountain lion coming and he was already on you, good luck with that spray!
So what do you guys think? Will the 10mm penetrate a bear skull? Double tab 10mm ammo says its over 1200fps with a 200gr bullet, sounds like it would.
So I was thinking the Taurus 444 or the S&W329, both light weight .44. The max recommended load for the Taurus is 240 Grain but most recommend 220. I have never owned a Taurus, but my friend is a huge gun collector and has had problems with numerous Taurus guns which makes me nervous. I will not use this gun for a range gun at all. So that leaves the S&W but that thing is over 900.00 which means I would need to sell a gun to get this gun and I really dont want to do that but I was convinced I needed to.
Then I thought, maybe a 10mm Glock would work. I did some research and some say a 10mm will kill a BLACK bear and others say file off the front site, yeah you know the joke. I thought screw it, I'll just go with a .44
Then I started thinking, I dont think I am going to hit much in quick developing situation like that with using double action which means I have to cock it. That can slow things down. Then, my follow up shot, it would take a bit because of the recoil of a light 44 and I would have to yet cock it again. If I were hunting with this gun, sure, cocking it would be no big deal but not in a crisis.
SO then I was thinking, with the Glock 10mm, the trigger pull is nice and I can double tap fairly fast. Lets face it, you're not getting but 1-2 shots at a bear if you have to use a gun but with a 10mm, that might be 2-4 instead of 1-2 shots. Then, I dont care what caliber you use, its all about shot placement. I feel like shot placement would be better with the Glock for the reasons stated above. I have shot many many Deer with high cal rifles and they still run off so anything but a head shot and the damn bear will still probably be charging.
So the question is, will a 10mm penetrate a bear skull? If it will, I feel like while its not better than a 44, but more practical in just about every way.
FYI, I do have and carry bear spray and that would be my obvious first choice. THere several situations though wher e bear spray is not the correct answer like if you were in a tent and u got attacked (happened 3 times last year along in Colorado in the middle of the night) or if the wind is blowing in your face, dont want to spray myself which would make things worse. Or if you didnt see the bear or mountain lion coming and he was already on you, good luck with that spray!
So what do you guys think? Will the 10mm penetrate a bear skull? Double tab 10mm ammo says its over 1200fps with a 200gr bullet, sounds like it would.